Britain's identity as an entity, separate from the European Continent, started not as a political concept but as a geographical one. Around 8,000 years ago, the last land-links between Ancient Britain and Europe became flooded, creating the British Isles. The juxtaposition of these islands lying just miles from the European Continent, yet distinctly sticking out into the Atlantic has come to dominate British history, law and politics to the present day. As Europe has sought closer integration for the better part of the last century, Britain has always found itself in an awkward position regarding its place therein. This essay, entitled ‘Britain and Europe: Changing Perspectives on Integration’, aims to explore how attitudes of the political elites and of the public towards European integration have changed over time. The topic will be split into three broad chapters. Chapter I will focus on traditional ideas on European integration, looking first at the doctrine of parliamentary sovereignty and Britain’s historical power ambitions and identity, before analysing the beginnings of European integration with the creation of the European Coal and Steel Community, and then turning to Britain’s initial post-war ‘three-doctrines’ policy, whereby it aimed to be associated with, but stay out of the emerging European Community. Chapter II will look at Britain’s accession to the European Community, looking at the changing times which led to the shift in Britain’s European policy and the unsuccessful attempts at membership in the 1960s, before Prime Minster Ted Heath finally managed to strike a deal with the European Community, leading to Britain’s membership in 1973. We will then turn to the constitutional implications of membership. Chapter III will be centred around Brexit. We will first look at the historical background to modern Euroscepticism, then analyse the reasons behind Euroscepticism, before detailing the circumstances which led to the 2016 referendum and Brexit. We will conclude the chapter by looking at the UK’s current relationship with the European Union and the possibilities surrounding future European integration for Britain. From the British standpoint, perspectives on integration with Europe are essentially a question of where sovereignty should lie. Thus, one of the main recurring themes throughout the essay shall be sovereignty, including an analysis of Diceyan parliamentary sovereignty prior to joining the European Community, the constitutional effects of becoming a party to the Treaty of Rome, as well as the state of parliamentary sovereignty post-Brexit.